.family.

.i'm thinking about christmas and, in my mind, christmas = family.

my beautiful cousins

just got off the phone with k, and it made me miss maui, but, even more so, it made me miss my family? or fambly, if you're into grapes of wrath.

the requisite 'behind the counter at sanch's house' pose

let me explain. lots of normal families live far apart from each other. they see relatives - aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents - maybe three-four times in their lives. they meet cousins once or twice. they have massive family reunions where they go to retreat centers and have potlucks and games and make "johnson family reunion 2009" tee-shirts. they pinch your cheeks. maybe you see them once a year at christmas. if you're lucky.


not my family.

my amazing cousins. minus k and b

growing up, my entire extended family was basically like a slightly extended immediate family. they were a constant fixture in my life, from birthday parties, to new years day parties, to summer weekend get togethers, to easter, to christmas, to caroling, to you name it. l and i were born a day apart, so her and i were basically raised like sisters - twin sisters, might i add, in matching outfits and all. k i wasn't so close to - she's so much older! and when you're 5, older cousins seem much wiser and cooler (now, i know better...ha! love you). i'm glad we're so close now.

possibly my favorite picture of all time. b looks like she has to pee. l looks adorable. k looks like she's on vicodin. a just looks like a happy fat baby. and i look like i'm ready to get away from these crazy people. has anything really changed? just kidding. i wish i had more old pictures uploaded onto my computer.

oh, and i forgot chinese food. every time our family gets together, i swear we go and get chinese food. at least it's good chinese food - thank goodness for linda and her connections.

l and i flying the space shuttle at seattle center. always young at heart.

did i mention that i love the diversity of my family? we're swedes and norwegians, but we are also thai and taiwanese. how awesome is that? although people don't believe me when i say that half of my family is asian.

anyway, my family is awesome, and i'm so glad that we all lived so close growing up. except for doug and sukanya's clan...they were a bit further away (i.e. thailand and japan). but still, we saw them at least once a year, usually more. i'm so grateful too that i grew up with my grandparents so close, both maternal and paternal.

grandpa leland. he is a tough old cookie!

the only problem arises during family gatherings, when you say, hey, will you take a candid shot of me? within 4.6 seconds, the entire family has swarmed around you, and the 'candid shot' has turned into a 5 minute long, strained photo shoot. yee viz.

thank god for fambly.

.cheers.